DS R4 cards

Robyn asked me about DS R4 cards, and since I figure she's probably not the only one who could use this info, I asked the guy who helped me if I could stick it up here.

This is what he said about writable DS cards:

I got mine from: http://www.r4card.com.au/ The one I got was the R4 SDHC Card for DS / DS Lite + 4GB Micro SD Memory Card

Gotchas: Make sure to get the one which says DS Lite if that's what you have (the DS is different, I think). The SD card is teensy (little-fingernail sized), but you probably know more about that than I do. It comes with a USB-stick-like reader for you to copy stuff onto from your PC. The big gotcha that took me hours to hunt down was finding the right OS to put on the card. The trick was to use the URL printed on the box the card came in (rather than just googling for generic r4 card OS's). D'oh!

Download the OS and copy the files onto the SD card and you're set. Copy your downloaded games/music/pictures into the top directory on the SD card and the OS can find them.

I also had uTorrent (micro-torrent?) recommended to me - seems to work much better than other torrent downloaders we've tried. Can probably dig up places for you to look for games too.

He points out that he's not endorsing this website as the best or only place to buy them, just that he bought one there and it worked. The teensy little cards slot into an R4 cartridge which is supplied and works in the DS itself.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Carols in the Park

Linda asked me to put this up as a general invitation on the blog as a few kindy mums are going including her family and Will would love friends. It's intimate, local and great fun.

Carols in the Park:
Tomorrow, Sunday, December 13
Time: 07:30 PM

Organisation:
Salvation Army Dulwich Hill

Event Location:
Johnson Park, Constitution Rd, Dulwich Hill

Phone:
   02 8324 3034  02 8324 3034    02 8324 3034  02 8324 3034 

A wonderful night for the whole community where family and friends can get together and sing their favourite carols to the music of the Salvation Army band.
BYO picnic or there will be a BBQ with sausage sandwiches, hot & cold drinks and ice-cream for sale.
Lots of entertainment including the Salvation Army Agents of T.R.U.T.H & Santa will be arriving with a small present for the children.

Concluding around 9pm with a fabulous fireworks display.

Personal reminder

Just a quick reminder that the talent assembly tomorrow starts at 2:30pm not 2:20pm and the kids will go in first.

Personal reminder

The last P&C meeting of the year is tomorrow (Wednesday) night. It's a dinner at La Candela (with big people chairs and everything). It starts at 7:30pm (rather than the usual 7pm start time - there's no Spicks and Specks to rush home to anymore).

Kathrine has organised it, and if you would like to come and haven't already been counted, please let her know.

Also, don't forget tomorrow is cake day - send that 20 cents in. You can't imagine the trauma of seeing small kids with puppy dog eyes and no money!

Special Lunch

For anyone who has ever wondered about the why's and how's of special lunch, I thought I would post some information.

Special lunch is a lunch provided for the children once each term as a special treat. It is paid for out of P&C funds and is prepared by volunteers. Providing lunch for 60 children and several teachers is a big task and we have to work within the constraints of our own domestic sized kitchens and equipment. The menu is usually a savoury item (pie, sausage on a roll, etc), fruit and a sweet treat for desert (ice block, jelly etc).

There have been some questions as to why we serve items like pies, when we should be encouraging healthy eating. There are two reasons; firstly, we are very limited with what can be prepared given that we have less than 2 hours between the end of lines and lunch at 11.30. We have no access to refrigeration other than what spare space there is in our own fridges. We rely on being able to heat food in an oven as we simply don't have containers large enough to attempt to cook, heat and transport a dish like spaghetti for example. Secondly, we see this lunch as a special treat, and differentiate between healthy everyday foods and treat foods that are only eaten occasionally. Our aim is to provide something that the children will really look forward to and enjoy. We do try to balance out the "treat" food by always ensuring that a fruit course is served.

We are always looking for helpers. Most of the shopping is done a day or two prior to lunch day; it is on lunch day morning that we really need help as most of the preparation is done then. Of course the fun part is serving lunch to the kids. It is really lovely to see how excited the children are, and to watch them enjoy a special event. Also we are always happy to listen to any suggestions as to new foods to try or better ways of doing things. Let me know if you would like to be involved or have a question or suggestion.

Robyn

Personal reminder

Don't forget the Morning Tea to thank parents at 11:30 this morning.

Tomorrow is Digi-Ed, Wednesday is cake day and the last P&C meeting for the year (dinner!). Thursday is the talent assembly and Friday is Special Lunch day!

I know Robyn needs some people to help with the prep for Special Lunch day, please let us know if you can help. It's a fairly mammoth undertaking to feed 60-odd kids a 3 course lunch and Robyn really can't do it on her own. I'll be helping with the serving, but I have a pre-school board meeting this Friday so I'm forced to abandon her. Please step up and help out!

Finally - the Exodus hamper collection has started, so please bring in some non-perishables.

Michael Kirby speaks up for public schools

Robyn told me about this a few days ago, but I've only just had time to look at it.

Former Justice Michael Kirby spoke recently at Melbourne High School and slammed the current policy of under-funding and denigrating public schools. The ABC News feed covered it here.

Kirby urges us all to become more active as advocates for public schools - and he specifically mentioned using blogs and Twitter. So we have here a blog, and it seems like a good plan to use it if we feel so inspired. At the least we can put links up here to what others might be doing and so on. If anyone sees anything worth sharing, send it on through.

And if you are interested, go track down other things Michael Kirby has written and said - he's insightful and inspirational.

Agave Attenuata for sale

Meng has a bed of agave attenuata that can be sold to the Yeo Park community. She's sold large ones (1m dia) for $40 and medium sized ones for $20. These go for hundreds at the nurseries and appear to be popular succulents.

You can catch her at lines or comment here if you are interested. You can see from the photo here that they are pretty amazing.

Personal Reminder

Next Tuesday evening is the Monkey Puzzle night. This is a couple of child free hours with some wine and nibbles to wander around grabbing Christmas presents and covering the last of the birthday parties for the year. As an added extra bonus, you get 10% off everything you buy and the school gets money to spend there as well!

Last year was my first year, and I had a lovely night and filled stockings all in one go. It kicks off at 6:30pm, so come along and enjoy a chilled out shopping experience.

Also next week is the Presentation Night at Canterbury Girls High School. It's in the big hall at the Ashfield end of the school - not where we held the trivia night. It starts at 7pm.

The 11 December is special lunch day, and Robyn could really use some helpers for preparation in the morning straight after lines. Please see her or me if you can help.

Last but not least - Ashfield council are DOING SOMETHING about the toilets! It's not just a fence either - there's real work going on in there. We might soon have toilets that don't make you shudder the moment you walk into them. Thanks to all the people who have raised this with council over the last few years.

Home delivered milk

I have a number of friends who use Farmers Direct to get bread, milk, cheese, meat, fruit & veg and other food delivered and they are all really happy with it. Sadly, they don't deliver around here. However, if you go to their website, you can register your interest and if enough people do so, they'll start up.

So if the idea of never running out of milk and bread appeals to you, head on over to Aussie Farmers Direct and give them your name and address and we might be able to convince them to do our shopping for us.

Here's a few grabs from their website:

Fresh Bread range

Our Bread is baked fresh each evening. We only use the freshest ingredients which are 100% Australian owned and produced. Our Bread is delivered to you within hours of baking and is 100% preservative free.

White Sandwich	$2.70
White Toast	$2.70
Wholemeal	$2.70
Multigrain	$2.80
Sourdough	$3.60

Fresh Milk

Our Milk is processed in a state of the art production plant in Warrnambool. Milk is bottled daily to ensure that you receive the freshest product possible.

Whole Milk (1L)	$2.09
Whole Milk (2L)	$3.43
Whole Milk (3L)	$4.77
Reduced Fat Milk (1L)	$2.19
Reduced Fat Milk (2L)	$3.73
No-Fat Milk (1L)	$2.19
No-Fat Milk (2L)	$3.73

Fruit & Vegetable boxes Our fruit and vegetables are as fresh as you could hope for without growing them yourself. These boxes provide great value for money and a superb selection of what is in season at the time combined with all your regular favourites, try a box out today.
Family pack Sample pack 10 Regular Items Potatoes, Carrots, Brown Onions, Green Apples, Red Apples, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Oranges, Lettuce (Summer), Grapes (Summer), Pumpkin (Winter), Cauliflower (Winter) 6-8 Seasonal Items Strawberries, Zucchini, Broccoli, Cucumber, Snow Peas, Bananas, Beans, Passion Fruit, Raspberries, Apricots, Corn, Mangoes, Pineapple, plus many more... only $35

Cot for sale

If anyone is need of a cot - there is one over here. It's lovely, but large. Please let me know if you could use it or know someone who could.

Here's a pic so you know what you're dealing with.

SMH article

The Herald today has an article regarding the Ethics program I mentioned yesterday.

THE St James Ethics Centre has accused the State Government of deliberately stalling approval on an ethics pilot program for schools, saying the education minister is bowing to pressure from church groups in the hope the issue will go away

Click on the quote to see the original article. You might like to write a letter to the editor (letters@smh.com.au) if you feel so inspired. If so, make sure you put your name, address and phone number in it.

Non-scripture parents unite!

I discovered this little gem on Facebook (who says it's just as waste of time?). It is a joint project between St James Ethics Centre and the NSW P&C .

This is the lead blurb

Did you know that children whose parents make a conscientious decision to have them opt out of Special Religious Education (SRE) are prohibited from any form of instruction during this period? NSW Department of Education policy provides for the supervision of these children but specifies they are not to have access to 'ethics, values, civics or general religious education.'

I have tossed around with starting my own religion whose premises are the holiness of comparative religion - but realistically, that's never going to happen (and is slightly scary for everyone involved).

So if you choose to send your child to non-scripture, or you would prefer some age appropriate ethics to be covered in this timeslot, click on the quote above and go and check it out. There is a petition to sign (because I love lazy activism) and some other info. If you're on FB, join the group. If you know other parents who don't read the blog but might be interested, point them in the direction of this project.

Personal reminder

The anti-racism posters are due in on Friday.

I'm having another crafting day on Friday of this week - and Robyn, I promise I won't cancel this one at the last minute, if you can make it!

I haven't been at lines for a few days - anyone got anything else that should be here? I'm reminding from a position of ignorance.

Calendar update

I've updated the calendar with all the dates I have to hand at the moment. It's at the bottom of the page, if you haven't found it before, and there is also a link to it over there on the right side of the page.

Next week is the last week of homework. I say this just because it makes me feel better. I hope it makes you feel better too.

Kindy 2010

This is an open thread for any parents of next year's Kindy's who have some niggling question or confusion about anything at all. If there is anything you are wondering at all, from the trivial and procedural to the more significant, click on the "Comments" link and put it up. We'll do our best to help you.

Personal Reminder

Today is cake day! Don't forget to send money.

It's also the orientation morning for next year's Kindy kids and parents, so stop by for morning tea if you can.

Tonight is the school council meeting and P&C meeting - everyone's welcome!

Money for the wine orders is due back by Friday. The wine tastes great and it has our own Yeo Park label and names to match (I have to have some Weathershed Shiraz, myself).

It's anti-racism week, and the cardboard for posters went home on Monday - best get your thinking caps on.

Tomorrow is the last formal assembly of the year.

We made $5000 on the trivia night!!!! Wow - thanks again to everyone who contributed, especially the parents & friends who came along, enjoyed the night and handed over cash for what were some fantastic bargains.

And that long list of reminders is just a small part of why I hate November - but I hope everyone else has a lovely day. At least the weather is glorious at the moment!

Thank you card

I'll try to make sure all the addressees see this, but here it is anyway. (If you click on it, it's way big enough to read clearly)

Thanks again.

Personal Reminder

I forgot to mention the Cards & Calendars yesterday - they need to be back tomorrow so that we can get them back to you in time to send overseas for Christmas.

The weather is anything but conducive to bubbly in the park this afternoon - maybe next year! Good luck in the sweeps if you gave Maggie some of your moula.

Also, if you came home from the kids' party on Saturday night without a pillow, I may have it. I sent 5 kids and don't actually know whether the second pillow I claimed at lines this morning was mine. If you are missing a dusty pink coloured pillow, or you know someone who is, please let me know. Of course, it might yet be mine....

Thanks also to everyone who wrote on the card and contributed to the flowers and chocolates this morning - that was a lovely surprise.

Personal reminder & Melbourne Cup

We have a quiet week at school this week - although there are some more general works going on.

Next Wednesday (11th) is the Kindy orientation morning. Come along and say Hi to next year's parents. If you can bring something to eat for morning tea, it would also be appreciated. Since it's cake day as well, just a larger batch might do the job. I'll be bringing some brownies for both (because I am a creature of habit).

Also, tomorrow is Melbourne Cup. You probably knew that. Maggie is running a couple of sweeps, to use up whatever loose change you didn't spend on Saturday night. I'm pretty sure you can see her at lines tomorrow morning if you want in.

Since the race itself is at 3pm - right in the middle of pick up, I was tossing around with having a glass of bubbly in the park from about 2:45pm or so. Is anyone interested?

Finally, thanks are due. I want to extend a massive thanks to Kathrine for her incredible decorations on Saturday night & her amazing begging efforts, and add a plea for photos. Did anyone take any?

Huge thanks to Nerida for her quizmistressing - and apologies for failing on the tech front and only having a lap top at the back of the hall.

I also want to thank David for his stellar auctioneering, Robyn for managing coffee & cake & plenty of other stuff, Cathy for all the cash handling & begging, Isabelle for graphic design & donations, Cath, Linda, Bronwyn & Crash for begging, Jodie, George, Lucy, Annie, Fiona & Shem for donations, Effie for drinks, and the cast of thousands who helped with set up and clean up & cake making (and I'd name you all but I don't want to miss anyone - which I probably have - if you see I've missed someone, poke me and I'll add them).

Thanks finally to everyone who came to the night, I hope you had a good one.

Trivia and reminder

The Trivia Night is on Saturday night - there's still room so come along!

We will be sorting prizes on Wednesday night at my place, if you can spare a couple of hours. If you need my address, please grab me at school or send me an email.

We'll need as many people as we can to help with the decorations on Saturday, so if you haven't already let us know you can help, please do.

Also, we need an auctioneer on the night. Are you, or someone you know, the perfect auctioneer? It's only a couple of items, and it's supposed to be fun, so we don't need a pro.

In other news, the forms for the cards and calendars with your kid's artwork on them have gone home. These make great Chrissy presents, so send your notes back in as soon as possible.

Personal reminder

So much stuff is happening at the moment - Trivia and Kids' Halloween next Saturday - get your notes and money in ASAP if you haven't already.

The Cards and Calendars note has gone home, please get those in as soon as you can too.

For people helping out with the Trivia - we were going to sort prizes and so on tomorrow, but not enough has actually arrived (despite lots being pledged) to do it tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday evening? What do those involved think? I can also do Thursday, as long as we start after 7:30pm.

Kath needs some help with the decorations - anybody up for that? (Sounds like fun to me, but I shall be making offerings to the technology gods in order for the audio visuals to work, and setting up the auction).

We also need an auctioneer for the kids' artwork. Could we get a volunteer? Or a nomination? Please?

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has helped so much already and everyone who has volunteered to help with what's left to come. I hope it'll be a great night for everyone.

Personal reminder

Aaaaand we're back.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays, and now we have just eight and a half weeks before the end of the year. In that time there are about 836 things on, so stay tuned to keep on top of it all.

No need to send recess tomorrow, it's children's week and the teachers are providing afternoon tea for the kids.

Wednesday is Crazy Hair Day - bring a gold coin and crazy up that hair.

Friday is... something.... Soccer skills! That's right.

In the mean time, we are selling tickets for the Trivia Night - a note will go home shortly so you can buy tickets and book your kids (and your friends' kids) in for the Halloween party babysitting.

Also, for anyone that's interested in the crafty days I've been hosting - there's one this Friday. Please let me know if you want to come along - 10am - 2pm (nominally) to do any crafty thing that takes your fancy.

That's my reminders for today. If you can think of anything else, stick it in the comments.

Halloween for the kids!

I promised info on what's on for the kids on Halloween while the adults are off at trivia - and here it is:

Moonbie St will be offering babysitting for $50 a family from 6:30pm - 11:30pm on 31st October. Kids are welcome to dress up in costume, or in pyjamas. There will be a torch light walk around the grounds and DVDs and beds for later. For those that will need some shut eye, pack PJs, sleeping bag and pillow.

And get this - they'll take 'em all! From birth up! (Modulo breastfeeding of course) They'll deal with nappies, bottles etc as required. They are professional childcare workers, so your kids are in good hands.

We'll take the bookings for this with the trivia night, and I suspect this may prove to be one of THE social events of the K-2 year.

Oh, and it is open to all and sundry - anyone on your table can make use of the service, they don't have to attend Yeo Park.

Once again, massive thanks to Kathrine for making this happen!

(and please correct or update anything I got wrong or forgot!)

End of term

This morning I have been asked to:

• help write a speech and provide samples for it
• provide chopped up fruit for building people
• tune a ukelele (no, I have no idea how to tune a ukelele - at the talent assembly the badly out of tune ukelele will be my work)
• turn up in the middle of the day to watch said out-of-tune ukelele

I take back what I said to Catherine yesterday, I am looking forward to the end of term.

Enjoy your holidays everyone!

Offer: Baby girls' clothes

Hi guys, I have a few bags of baby clothes for girls - mostly size 1 and some smaller. Anybody want them or know someone who needs them?

Halloween Trivia

The P&C is holding a trivia night on 31st October - and since that is Halloween, it seemed only natural to run with it as a theme.

It will be in the Cantabrian Room at Canterbury Girls High School, Church St Canterbury.

What's it all about?

Trivia, of course, as well as silent auctions, prizes, games (as in Heads or Tails and so on - nothing too confronting!) and coffee and cake for the end of the night.

Right now we are looking for:

• You to book all or part of a table - bring along friends and neighbours, it's not a school community only event
• People to help with donations of skills or unwanted items
• People to help with cakes on the night
• People to help with set up and clean up
• You to put some thought into what you will wear!

There will be cold cans of drink on sale on the night, bring your own nibbles, or dinner, and any extra beverages you feel will enhance your trivia performance.

If you are reading this thinking "That's all well and good for people with handy baby sitters, but I have no-one to look after my kid/s" - fear not! We have thought of that too. Kathrine has organised with Moonbie St in Summer Hill to hold a babysitting night that night - kids can dress up (several have already told me what costumes they are wearing), go on a torch light tour of the grounds and otherwise enjoy their own party, while you know they are being looked after bu professional carers. My son has announced he is going, despite my having a babysitter for the night too. Kathrine is finalising the costs and I'll let you know as soon as I have the details.

Personal reminder

Tomorrow is the Open Classroom sessions for Yr1 & Yr2 - straight after lines.

Thursday is the talent assembly, and Friday is the last day of term!

Later today I'll put up some details about the Trivia Night too. You'll see table allocations and pleas for help and donations will be up at school from this morning.

Special Lunch thank you

I hope all the kids enjoyed their Special Lunch - they looked like they did!

I just want to thank Robyn, Kath and Effy for their monumental efforts. It's a massive undertaking for such a small group of people, and it came together really well.

The next one is 11th December - put it in your diaries now! It would be much less stressful if we had a few more pairs of hands. Not to mention that it is rather gratifying to see swarms of happy, well-fed faces.

Personal Reminder

Don't forget tomorrow morning is your last chance to get term 4 permission notes in!

Also:

• Special lunch on Friday
• Open class room for yr1 and yr2 next Tuesday morning
• Talent assembly next Thursday
• Last day of term next Friday! (Where did that term go?)

And next week we'll tell you all about the Trivia Night for this year.

Personal reminder

Special Lunch is this Friday. The menu is:

Chicken legs
Carrot sticks
Bread roll
Strawberries
Jelly

You'll note this is not a lines message. I have been told that the risk of our readers mistaking the authors' opinions for that of the school are sufficient to make the principal uncomfortable. Therefore there will be no more lines messages.

All there will be are the authors' personal reminders as we think of them, and with only our own opinions attached.

Who we are

I know people are slowly coming to find this blog, and I thought it might be timely to put up a note about what it is.

First what it isn't. It isn't a mouthpiece for the school or for the P&C. You'll find heaps of stuff on here about both, but it isn't directly affiliated with either, nor does it represent the opinions of either. There is a link over there on the right hand side to the school's website.

It is an informal place for and by the parents (and maybe one day, the alumni!). We try to be another place people can keep up with each other and what's happening at the school. As a result, we might occasionally get things wrong, or you might disagree with something someone says here.

Image credit: xkcd "Duty Calls"
Check out the website if you don't already read it.

So, if you see something wrong in this little corner of the intertubes, speak up! Anyone can comment, and we welcome opinions, dissentions and fluff. Really, it's fine. You should see some of the things people say to me on my blog, and it's all good. Keep it polite is all we ask (snark is OK, though).

Fund raising committee meeting.

We had our meeting at Envy today (thanks Effy for the coffees!) and decided on some dates and did much organising.

The Style Swap will be on 20th November. You can see the conversation here.

Monkey Puzzle will be 1st December. Stay tuned for more info on that. (Thanks Eugenia!)

We will try to organise the kids' cards that have been done previously in the next few weeks. (Thanks Kath!)

The trivia night is the big thing on the horizon, and you can see everything to do with that here.

Lines messages 21/9

Don't forget the term 4 notes must be back by Thursday. Don't leave them next to the front door like I keep doing.

Lines messages 15/9

Notes for term 4 activities went home last week. If, like me, you filed it under "I'll get to that real soon now", remember to get them back in by next Thursday.

Fund raising committee meeting.

It looks like we can't avoid having another fund raising committee meeting, so we'll have it next Monday after lines. I vote for a cafe - meetings look much better over a cappuccino.

The things I think we need to sort are the trivia night, the style swap and the Monkey Puzzle night. Have I forgotten anything?

So please, if you can help out at all with the trivia night, come along to the meeting or let us know how you might be able to help. This is the biggest event of the year this year, and it takes a lot of hands to make it come together. We need people to canvass shops for donations, we need some people to do some decorations for the hall and we'll need some people to help package up the prizes into bundles for the night.

If you've ever thought about helping out, this is your opportunity. We need all the help we can get!

Lines messages 14/9

The excursion to the Sydney Symphony is on this Friday. That's all for today.

Crafty day

If you were inspired by the idea of doing something creative, it's looking like it's going ahead. Discussion over on my blog.

Lines messages - 9/9

All welcome to the P&C meeting tonight. 7pm.

Lines messages - 8/9

Still waiting for the toilets to be fixed.

There will be no money lent for cake day tomorrow, so please remember your cake money!

Lines messages -7/8

Wednesday is cake day, and then P&C 7pm that night. Boys toilet is still out of action.

Trivia Night

As some people know, K.Rudd's money has disrupted our plans to hold our trivia night at Ashbury Public School - they have cancelled all functions til the end of the year because they don't know when construction will start.

I've spoken to a few people about other options, and we have some scouts out looking for places.

Canterbury Girls High called me back this morning and offered us their Cantabrian room which they say they have held a trivia night in before and it holds 100 people. It would cost us a $100 donation and I can go and check out its suitability in the next few days.

The Ashbury Senior Citizens hall is available that night, but we would have to request special permission to use it from the General Manager of Canterbury Council, which may be more of a drama than it's worth.

I'd still love to look at what other options are available, we may as well consider all the possibilities! If you are scouting around, please comment on here to let us know what you've found.

Thanks so much to all the people who have made suggestions already and those who are making enquiries for us.

Style Swap night

We were hoping to fit a style swap in before the end of term, which either makes it two weeks from tomorrow or the last day of school (because I really don't want to put it on the same day as Special Lunch).

I think we might need more than 2 weeks' notice so that people can fit it in to their calendars, so it's either the last day of term or we have to bump it to mid-November.

I think the last day of term would be a better option, but what does everyone else think?

(I will leave a link to this on the front page of the blog so that any further conversation about the night can all happen here.)

Lines messages - 3/9

Fathers Day breakfast tomorrow, assembly today.

Lines messages - 1/9

Another Fathers day brekky reminder. That's all for today.

Lines messages - 31/8

Only one message today - don't forget the fathers day breakfast this Friday morning. Make sure you know which sitting the Dad-type person in your family is in.

Creativity with socialising

Oooh, I've been slack and not posting here. Must get those lines messages happening again.

But this post is to see if anyone hereabouts would be interested in a crafty/creativity session once a month - just for the hell of it. Come along and do whatever creative pursuit takes your fancy.

If this sounds at all interesting to you, I've got a post up at my blog so speak up over there.

Get off your Arts

You're Invited!

To the opening night of the Get Off Your Arts comprehensive art competition and festival!

This is an exciting opportunity to experience the work of contemporary visual and performing artists from the local and wider community.

The evening will feature performances from shortlisted finalists, and provide you with exclusive first viewings and the opportunity to purchase select works. Boutique beer from the fabulous Little Creatures brewery will be provided on arrival, along with wine and finger food.

Date: Thursday 13 August 2009

Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm

Venue: Glebe Cafe Church space, cnr St Johns Rd & Colbourne Ave, Glebe

Entry: note donation (Free for GOYA entrants and our fabulous sponsors).

An additional note donation will gain you a limited edition, free CD of shortlisted compositions from this year's music composition section.

This year the Get Off Your Arts Festival will doante a percentage of our profits to the Boonah Creative Arts program (fine arts tuition for people with a disability).

Look forward to seeing you there!

- The Get Off Your Arts crew

Via Jodie.

P&C Meeting

Don't forget the P&C meeting tonight at 7pm. We'd love to see you there.

More about McDonalds

Last week I passed on some info about the request McDonalds has made to Ashfield council for 24hr trading. I received a card in the mail yesterday asking people to attend a protest on the night the decision will be made - which is tonight at 6:15pm. You can also email the councillors by finding their email addresses on the councillors web page.

I was going to scan in the card, but the gratiutous fat kid photo annoyed me sufficiently that I was tempted to throw the whole thing in the bin without reading it. Still, I can see good reasons for objecting to the application without invoking "ZOMG we'll be overrun by teh fat kidz".

Guest post - Help for Tibetan school

Hi everyone,

My name is Fiona - I have a little boy in Kindy (Shem) at Yeo P. I'm wondering if any parents out there might be interested in helping out in my efforts to build a primary school in Tibet? I've been working on it for a little while now, and have had Architects Without Frontiers on board who are drafting a design for the school. I need to get money together though, and thought that some of you might be able to help with this or maybe some other part of the project. I'm sure a community effort would be better than mine alone. I know folks are busy, but it's a great project and people can offer as little or as much time as they have! The project is at www.nangqiantibetanfoundation.com if you want to have a look and if you want to get in touch you can email me at mule_brown at yahoo.com.au* or 95730971/0411708619 or just come see me at school at lines.

*email address changed to not be machine readable to reduce spammage

P&C Meeting next week

The next P&C meeting will be next Wednesday at 7pm. The agenda hasn't yet been finalised, so if you have any items you would like raised, put them in the comments and they'll be added to the agenda.

The minutes from the previous meeting are here:

Minutes 10th June 2009
Items arising from the previous meeting:

• Follow up on the petition regarding the toilets in the park.
• Follow up fund raising letters of request.
  

Slow cooked roast beef

I've discussed this with a few people, so I thought I'd stick the link up here.

This is the slow cooked roast beef recipe that I used to make really seriously good roast beef. It took about 3hrs for a small roast.

Lines Messages 4/8

Tomorrow morning before school is the last day for Stewart House bags, so don't forget to bring them in.

Also, in case you hadn't noticed, the athletics carnival is tomorrow. The kids need to wear their summer polo shirt and whatever else blue might be appropriate and hanging around the wardrobe.

We are making 300 fruit & vegie cups tomorrow morning, so if you can spare half an hour to chop and fill, it would be appreciated. Donations of fillings are also still being accepted - carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kiwi fruit, red capsicum (I can't see green being overly popular, but you never know!) or anything else you can think of that won't go brown and yukky between cutting and serving. Thanks everyone who already sent things in and put their names down to chop.

Activism - McDonalds

This is a little late, but you never know what your actions might bring. This is from Kath via Jodie:

Say No to McDonalds 24hrs-1

Lines messages 3/8

The athletics carnival is this Wednesday. We could still use donations of fruit and vegies (but no more oranges please - we've got heaps of those!). Also, if you have some time to chop them up straight after lines (and before the much anticipated marching), please send back the note or let me know - BYO knife and chopping board.

Uniform Order Form

Here is the current uniform order form. You can download it by clicking on the link at the top.
Uniforms

Family holiday locations

We are looking to take a week away (no childcare that week, so we may as well run away for a week). Does anyone have any recommendations for places that will fit 3 kids and has an indoor pool? Preferably within driving distance...

Lines messages 28/7

And we're back....

That athletics carnival is next Wednesday, so please let Isabelle or myself know if you can help slice and dice on the morning so we can provide healthy snacks for the kids from all schools.

There will be no assembly this week, due to the short week.

Athletics carnival

As you may have noticed, there will be another athletics carnival in a similar vein to last year's mini-Olympics early next term. Stacey has suggested we use this as a little fundraiser and do the fruit cups again and get a coffee van. Seems like a good plan to me, and I am happy to help chop and sort.

The only concern is that I think we are all agreed that last year's coffee guy wasn't quite up to the task - several parents gave up and went to McDonalds for coffee! Does anyone have any suggestions for a mobile coffee van?

Calendar updated

I have updated the calendar (which you can find at the bottom of the page - just scroll on down) with all the term 3 activities.

I trust everyone who could make it enjoyed the open morning this morning. Year 1's diorama's were most amazing.

Since we are (finally!) coming to the end of this term, there's not too many notices, but reports go home on Thursday and the cricket clinic is happening on Friday, so sneakers are probably a good plan.

If anyone wants to organise any get togethers or just let people know they are heading out to a park, please shoot me or Alison an email and we'll post it up on the blog. Robyn and Isabelle are also authors, so you can speak to them too.

Lines Messages 30/6

The teachers are all off learning about the interactive whiteboards and other technology this week. Ms Furner yesterday and Mrs Thompson and Ms Parks today.

Term 3 activity notes MUST be by tomorrow morning. Please don't forget.

This Friday is special lunch day. The menu is:

Meat Pies
Jelly
Fruit

If your child is partaking, you won't need to send lunch, but you'll still need to send recess.

Friday is also the netball clinic for PE.

And thanks to the returner of Ben's shoe. :)

Gymnastics Program

Just thought I would let everyone know I had a call yesterday from Wests Ashfield and they are sending a cheque for $250 to go towards the Gymnastics Program. Here's hoping the other clubs I wrote to will follow suit.

Some places to buy extra winter uniform supplies....

EXTRA WINTER UNIFORM SUPPLIES

Light blue skivvies
Best & lest Light weight skivvies approximately $5
Heavy weight skivvies approximately $10

Lowes Heavy weight skivvies approximately $20

Kmart Mid-weight skivvies approximately $5 (don't hold shape well)


Maroon jazz/ stretch pants
Best & lest Fairly light weight stretch fabric $10
(can be ordered in if they don’t have your size)

Maroon Tights
Sox King Heavy weight (Leichhardt marketplace oppos. toy shop) approximately $8


Tracksuit tops and bottoms
Big. W. Medium weight approximately $7 each piece

Target Medium weight approximately $15 each piece

Lines Messages 23/6

Firstly I'd like to thank Ms Furner and Mrs Killorn for providing a fantastic night for the kids on Saturday night and for raising $574-odd for the P&C

Then I'd like to thank Effie and George for their monumental effort at the Bunnings BBQ on Sunday. Huge thanks also to all the people who helped out during the day. We are waiting on some receipts, but we'll let you know what we made as soon as we know.

Messages from today: This is the last week to bring in non-perishables for Exodus. They are really feeling the pinch at the moment, so anything you can bring will be greatly appreciated.

Notes for term 3 activities must be in by next Wednesday, 1st July.

Lines messages 4/6

Don't forget the Pizza and Pyjama night - notes need to be in next Tuesday.

And please, stick your name on the roster for an hour or two at the Bunnings BBQ. It's a great opportunity to extract money from people other than your good selves, and it's actually pretty good fun when there's plenty of helpers. So far we have a gender bias which needs attending. Come on girls, I'm pretty sure the blokes don't have a monopoly on turning snags.

And on a personal note, thanks to all those who came along to the Style Swap night. I loved it, and I hope everyone else did too. We're pretty keen to do another in spring, so please let us know if you like the idea, if there are any tips you have for improving it next time, or any other feedback you have.

And a HUGE thanks to Alison, who did all the hard work, and whose inspiration the evening was.

I still have 3 mirrors on my front verandah... :)

Style Swap photo's

Bunnings BBQ

Probably missing something important from lines yesterday, but do know that the Bunnings BBQ roster is up - don't forget to sign up to help out. BBQ is on Sunday 21st June. If you can't manage an hour, perhaps you could help with delivering ice or helping pack up gear. Also, don't forget to send your money in for the Pizza & Pyjamas Night on 20th June. $15 each or $20 for a family. Money needs to be in by 9th June.

PS - Anyone know how much we made from the Style Swap?

Lines 1/6

There is nothing special happening at the school, so probably no new messages this week. We did however make $256.00 for the cancer council last Friday, so thanks everyone for the support.

Lines 28/5

No new additions to the morning messages, just a reminder that the education week assembly is tomorrow at 2.00pm. Just to add that extra degree of difficulty for working parents, the doors will be locked and bolted promptly at 2.00pm so don't be late. Also afternoon tea will on on at the end of the assembly, we are raising money for the cancer council, so dontations will be appreciated.

School Transition

In the light of the recent experience with the 2008 year 2 transition to new schools, I have made a suggestion that we look to forming a new committee as part of our P&C to oversee future year 2 transitions.

The transition at the end of year 2 is a huge issue for our families, one that most of us begin agonising over in preschool, when we first begin to make our decision about the school we will send our child to. The issue gets bigger over the next few years often becoming overwhelming by the end of year 2. Having just made what was fortunately for us, a very happy transition to year 3 in a new school, it has struck me that this largely positive experience, was more by good luck than good management. There was a definite feel of every man for himself, in bailing out of the school and a cheerful yet haphazard induction into the new school. I think we can do better than this.

I believe that parents through the P&C should be taking a more proactive role in overseeing and supporting this process and that priority needs to be given to yearly evaluations to ensure our children are given the best start at this difficult time.

So, here is a draft proposal for how this will work.

1. We establish a permanent committee under the umbrella of our P&C. This underlines the importance we are placing on this issue to all within our community, and ensures we have an ongoing forum to oversee each year’s transition.

2. A survey of year 3 parents is taken in the first half of each year. We need to find out what worked – and what didn’t.

3. We put together check lists and information for parents for each of our main y3 schools. What they need to know, what they need to find out, local knowledge etc.

4. We establish strong links with our main y3 schools and constructively assist in finding solutions for any problems that are encountered.

5. We share useful feedback to y3 schools, which may help them in their induction programs - it’s not just our kids who change schools – hopefully our research will yield helpful information for other children who are changing schools.

6. We encourage old Yeo Park parents to act as mentors, helping to introduce new families into the established social network at their new school.

Ok, these are just my thoughts to get the ball rolling. This is all open to further discussion. Given the enthusiastic reception this was given at the P&C meeting I hope we will have the nucleus of a group to make a start. All are welcome to participate, not just year 2 parents though they obviously have a very strong interest. Let’s get some more ideas happening. Leave a comment here, or contact P&C members and register your interest, we will then call a meeting over coffee, and start the discussion.

Lines 22/5

The only update today is that there will be a uniform sale on Monday afternoon 3.25pm. I thinks it is second hand uniforms and as well as new on sale. Have a good weekend.

Lines 21/05

Only a little news from lines this morning. Ms Furner is away today and Mrs Killorn will be in the office later in the day. Assembly today is as normal. Hmmm ... I think that's it!

Lines 20/5

The only real message is that it is education week next week and there will be a special assembly next FRIDAY (I assume this means that the usual Thursday assembly is cancelled) at 2.00pm, followed by one of the famous Yeo Park afternoon teas in the park. We will be needing people to supply cakes etc for afternoon tea, so if you are able to help it will be much appreciated.

I won't be at school tomorrow but will try and update lines messages on Friday. Robyn.

We're In the Know

Take a look at page 9 in today's (Saturday) SMH - 'Shop Until You Swap for Sydney's Fashionistas'. I had to do a double-take ... wondered whether we secretly had a SMH photographer there on Friday night! Anyway, looks like we're spot on with the trend of the moment.

Style swap

Just a brief thank you to all those who came to the Style Swap tonight, and a huge thank you to all those who helped with food, setting up and cleaning up.

I had a great night, and I hope most people did.

Shaun, we missed you. Where were you?

I know Isabelle was taking photos, and I'm hoping she'll donate some of those for the blog.

For those who missed out, we'll do this again. We'll probably do a non-clothing swap (homewares, toys, sporting kit etc) and another fashion one in the spring.

Thanks Alison, awesome idea and excellent execution.

Yeo Park Club Penguin clan

You may or may not have been introduced to Club Penguin, but if you have, you may also have had kids pleading to find out when their friends will be on.

There is a small core of year 1's who have been badgering for mutual online time. Between 5:30 and 6pm Wednesdays is that time.

If you have no idea what Club Penguin is, this is a brief overview. It is a Disney website with a large number of games and a social networking component. There are games to be played with other people, and games to be played against the computer. There are moderators everywhere, so I suspect it is the safest online place in existence. Disney could not afford for it to be anything else. Conversations can be typed, or selected from drop down options.

Your kids will need to know each others' penguins' names in order to find one another. They will also need to be on a common server.

Just before 5:30pm I will update this post with which server Ben will be on (I'll pick an empty one so there is no risk of it filling up).

UPDATE: The server is: Powder Ball.

If this all sounds insane - just wait. It will catch up with you. If not Club Penguin, then something else. :)

Lines messages 13/5

Much the same as Monday - 1 litre milk bottles still required for Yr 2. SOS tattoos still available from the office.

P&C meeting is tonight from 7pm. Agenda is here. Come along if you can, everybody is very welcome.

Also, if you were thinking of coming to the Style Swap but the beginning of term has been slightly less organised than you were hoping, it's not too late! We have enough people to go ahead, but we have plenty of room for extras. We'd love to have a drink with you, so bring your money in tomorrow and your name will be on the door!

(Really, honestly, we'll take money at the door, but to make sure we don't run out of food or wine, we'd like to know if you are coming by Friday morning.)

Lines Messages 11/5

Year 2 now have enough boxes for their projects, but they are still looking for 1 litre PET milk bottles.

There are a few SOS Stewie tattoos left for $1 each if anyone wants an extra one or two.

If you were planning on coming to the Style Swap but haven't quite got your money in, please get it in tomorrow so we can get tickets back out to everyone.

Free DVD's

Wow, my first post. I feel dizzy with power! Anyway, to the matter at hand, I have a box of 25 DVD+R discs that I bought for our DVD recorder, not realising that the + was important; our play takes a DVD-R and so these discs are no good to us. If anyone can use them let me know and they will be yours. Robyn.

Style night supplies

I thought I'd throw this post up with what has currently been offered. I'll update as I hear. Alison, please feel free to update whatever info you get.

So far we have:

5 clothes racks

3 mirrors

Jewellery stand
Mirror for the accessories table

Food:
Avocado dip
Hommous
Babaganoush
Beetroot dip
Bruschetta
Banana bread
Brownies
Savoury muffins
Savoury pastries (?)

This is just to save 437 emails updating where we are currently up to.

School calendar

The school calendar (at the bottom of the page if you scroll down) has been updated with the dates from this week's funky newsletter.

Lines messages 6/5

I wasn't actually listening this morning. Something about cardboard boxes for Year 2?

The Theatre of the Deaf was on this morning.

Please remember to bring back your acceptance for the Style Swap.

There will be Stewart House dolphins on sale before the first bell (9:20am) on Friday morning. I think they are $3?

Please feel free to jump in and flesh this out!

P&C Meeting next week

There will be a P&C meeting next Wednesday evening. The agenda for this meeting is here:

Yeo Park Infants School Parents & Citizens Association
Victoria Street
Ashfield NSW 2131

P & C Meeting – Agenda

13 MAY 2009

1.Meeting open, welcome and apologies

2.Acceptance of Minutes of previous meeting

3.Reports from the principal treasurer school council

4.Fund-raising Committee update

5.General business

6.Fundraising report

7.Meeting close.

If you have any further items you would like added, you can comment them here, or put them on a note and put them in the P&C mail box.

I think I have managed to embed the minutes. Let me know if you can't see it.

Minutes 18 Mar 09

Publish at Scribd or explore others: minutes Government

Anyway, from my quick reading of the minutes, the following items are outstanding, or awaiting followup from the last meeting:

• Stacey's application for K. Rudd's stimulus funds for various upgrades.
• The year 1 teaching position (although I think we all know how this turned out)
• Choosing a date for the pizza and pyjama night
• Second date for the Bunnings BBQ
• Total Learning Books date
• P&C spending consultation
• Woolworths fundraising application
• Funding requests to clubs

If you have been considering coming along, please do. There is wine and nibbles and it is generally a convivial evening. I know everyone puts a lot of time and money into the P&Cs activities, so we'd love as many people as possible to come along and have opinions on how it all runs.

Style swap logistics

Robyn quite rightly pointed out that mirrors might come in handy for the style swap. I have secured two, possibly three so far. If anyone else has a free standing mirror that is easy to toss in the car and bring along, please let me know.

Also, if anyone would like to contribute a plate of nibbles - something you make routinely and is not onerous - it would help us keep the costs of the night down.

So far we have a couple of dips, some bruschetta and brownies. Let me or Alison know if you can help out.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you on the night.

Style Swap invitation and FAQ

I trust all those mums and other special people who could make it this morning had a lovely breakfast. Thanks to Stacey and all the staff for making it another special day for everyone.

Here are soft copies of the invitation and the FAQ for the Style Swap night.


So chase up your friends and lock them in. You need to have your RSVP in by next Friday, 8th May. We wouldn't like to run out of bubbly on the night!

Lines messages 30/4

There is no assembly today, due to organisation for tomorrow's Mothers' Day breakfast.

The Theatre of the Deaf performance that was scheduled for today has had to be postponed due to illness. Stacey will let us know when it has been rescheduled.

For the Mothers' Day breakfast tomorrow, the gates will be locked when everyone arrives. Kids should put their bags in lines and wait to be called inside. Since there are two sittings and the logistics of a military operation, it would be greatly appreciated if you could get there on time - even with 5 minutes to spare! Your kids will be delivering hot drinks, and it's better for all concerned if everyone is sitting down before they start. :)

As a late change, and in response to numerous requests, we've added a kids' clothes swap to the Style Swap night. But don't forget, there is a huge range of options for your own items to swap. Things to consider include:

• new cosmetics that you were gifted, but don't suit you
• scarves
• maternity clothes, especially dressy ones
• shoes that you bought for one outfit and you wore once
  
• jewelery you no longer wear, or are just sick of and would like to have something new
• a hat that seemed like a good idea at the time
• a handbag that was beautiful, but doesn't work for you
• or go check out Vinnies, find something that is cool but doesn't fit you, and you might be able to trade it for something that does!

Also, the "3 year old" clause should really be replaced with "basically new looking". The flyer sent out was one version older than the final one, so if you have something cool and vintage, or classically styled and 8 years old - that's perfect. As Alison said, if you'd be happy to lend it to a friend, it's fine.

The kids' clothes won't be sorted, it'll be an all in, but everyone loves a treasure hunt!

If you have any more questions, please ask them here rather than calling Chris - she doesn't really have the answers and Alison and I can make them up as required! :)

Style Swap Questions

After speaking with Kris in the office and Stacey yesterday, it seems that people are a bit confused about the Style Swap Evening and how it all works. I have put together a Q & A style page to go home hopefully this week, but would welcome suggestions to add to the page. Can you think of any questions people might ask? Thanks!

Lines Messages 29/4

Welcome back to term 2!

Apart from the ANZAC day assembly and walk to the RSL, the only message today was to mention the school excursion to the Botanic Gardens next Tuesday (which you can see in the calendar at the bottom of the blog!). There will be a note sent home today about it.

Oh, and the floor and roof are all done, lines are back around the right way and the hall floor is extra, extra shiny!

Enjo

I trust everyone is preparing to tearfully send their children back to school on Wednesday. :)

I had an Enjo party yesterday which I completely failed to mention here beforehand. However, the order isn't going in until Wednesday lunch time, so if you are an Enjo user and need one or two items, let me know at lines on Wednesday morning and I'll add it to the order.

If you have no idea what Enjo is, you should check it out - fastest way of cleaning that I have found despite being mind bogglingly expensive and sold through party plan. It's also decidedly environmentally sound (no chemicals, environmentally sound manufacturing etc) but I was sold on the quicker and easier cleaning. If you are a big user of cleaning products, it's probably also cost effective in the long run.

The toast tongs have landed

Those strange kitchen gadgets I was talking about before have arrived. I have an abundance of toast tongs in my lounge room. If you put your hand up for a set or four, I'll try to catch you next week at lines. If you haven't yet been seduced by the idea of wooden toast tongs to protect you from third degree burns and electrocution, there are plenty of spares if you come to your senses. :)

They are $5.40. And here is that picture again in case you have no idea what on earth I am talking about.

Style Swap Evening - Props Needed!

I hope you received the flyer for the Style Swap Evening on Friday 15th May. We're looking forward to a fun night, so be sure to purchase your tickets soon - bring your friends!  Remember that you can swap any fashion item - clothes, shoes, accessories. 

Does anyone have a clothes rack floating around? We need to borrow some clothes racks for the evening. If you have one we may be able to have for the evening, please let me know. We promise to take good care. Coathangers are also needed - let me know if you have some you're willing to donate.

I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Play this morning

Crash is taking the kids to the Earlwood play centre this morning - just in case anyone was feeling similarly inclined. He'll be there at 9:30am until about lunch time.

Their website (linked up there) has maps and other details if you haven't been there before.

Farewell notsomuch

The big news from this morning's lines is that Mrs Parks is staying! (We were all very confused by Tuesday's letter, but hey, we got a great outcome in the end!)

I'm sure all the long faces in year 1 will be gone after this morning's announcement. Excellent news indeed, and I'm pretty sure I can speak for pretty much everyone when I say we are very pleased Kathi is here to stay.

Lines messages 8/4

Any Mums who haven't put their names down for the Mothers Day breakfast, please do so by tomorrow. The catering needs to be organised during the holidays.

The first day back at school is a Wednesday (yes, your adorable state government didn't see fit to make Monday 27th a public holiday, but did make it a school holiday!), and there will be an ANZAC Day assembly on that day. Yr1 and Yr2 will go to the RSL to lay wreaths. The school is looking for donations of flowers and greenery as well as a couple of volunteers to help turn the donations into wreaths.

FAQ - What's a blog? How do I use it and why would I want to?

This is a post to explain what the blog is about and answer common questions. There will be a permanent link to it at the top of the blog and I will update it when necessary.

1. What is a blog?
   A blog is like a cross between a forum (where people carry on multiple conversations electronically) and a diary. This blog has been created to help keep parents in touch with what's going on at school, and with each other. The authors can post articles and anyone at all can comment on them and carry on whole conversations in the comments section. You are extremely welcome to use the comments as a way to keep in touch. Try to keep the conversations within the vague concept of the subject of the post to make it easier for people to find them and join in.
2. What is this blog for?
   It is for the use of the Yeo Park Infants School community. Anything at all that people want to use it for (within the bounds of decorum and the law!) is fine. We try to put up reminders about what is going on with the school and P&C. But anyone can use it to trade stuff, organise social events, discuss things going on at school - anything that has the school community as an audience.
3. How do I participate?
   By commenting or posting. Anyone can comment, with or without a Google account. If you don't have a Google, blogspot or OpenID account, in the section for identity choose "name" or "anonymous" and you won't be asked for passwords, just the word verification. If you still have problems, please send Ariane an email and I'll try to sort it out!
   To post, you can send an email to the people whose names appear on the right hand of the blog front page (currently Ariane). We'll get it up as quickly as we can. You can also become an author, as discussed below.
4. Who are the authors and can I be one?
   Authors are the people who can post directly to the blog. We can have up to 100 authors at any given time. So pretty much, if you want to be an author, let Ariane know and you will get an email invitation with instructions on what to do next. There are a few basic rules to follow as an author (just to keep the tags useable) but other than that it is easy and requires no serious commitment to be an author.
5. What if I only want to look at Reminders or some other subset?
   You can use the "Labels" section in the right hand column to look at only what you are interested in. This can help you to find anything that is for sale, or look for anyone else heading out to a park in the holidays or to catch up on reminders.
6. How do I find forms and other useful things?
   There is a "handy links" section in the right hand column with permanent links to the school website, useful documents and so on. If there is something that should be there and isn't, let us know!
7. Miscellaneous bits and pieces
   Buried in the blog might be some posts that will answer some of your other questions, not specifically about the blog. As they come up, I'll put a link to them here.

Last updated: 9/12/09

Lines messages 7/4

Remember there is no assembly this Thursday, because the floor in the hall is being sanded over the holidays.

Easter egg hunt this Thursday, as well as the rugby skills clinic.

Also, a note went home yesterday about the P&C's Style Swap fundraiser - look for it if it hasn't surfaced from the school bag yet! We are having a night to bring those clothes, accessories and perfumes that you never wear and switch them with all the other people. Find the dress you should have bought and find the person who should be wearing that neglected one in your wardrobe. And most importantly, have a drink and a nibble, bring your friends and enjoy a night out without the kids!

Farewell to Mrs Parks

Sadly Year 1 has to say goodbye to Mrs Parks (we've had many tears in our house). I think there is a general thought to buy her a farewell and thank you gift. I'll try to catch up with people tomorrow, but if you won't be there tomorrow and you would like to contribute, please email me.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Kathi for being an amazing, communicative teacher who has shared in my son's enthusiasm for learning and kept it on the boil, despite his skepticism at the beginning of year 1. Our family will miss you.

Lines messages 6/4

Tomorrow is open-classroom morning straight after lines. Come along and see what your kids have been doing this term.

This Thursday there is no assembly.

There is, however, a rugby skills clinic and an Easter egg hunt.

Kindergarten Holiday Get-Together

A few of us Kindy parents were thinking that it would be fun to get together in the holidays for a play / bike ride in Daryl Jackson Park at Summer Hill. Of course, everyone is welcome - not just Kindy kids! Perhaps we could all bring a plate to share. At the moment we're thinking the second week of the holidays - maybe the Monday? I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts. Alison

Kegworth Autumn F.A.R.E.

In the interests of supporting other local schools, Kegworth in Leichhardt are having their first (of many I am told) fete this Sunday. The weather is supposed to clear, so head on over for what I believe is going to be a huge food fest. Take along your baking expertise if you are the competitive type!

Click on the image to see it larger and more readable

Special Lunch Day

Tomorrow is Special Lunch Day - although you'd just about have to be psychic to know! For some reason, it got left out of the newsletter this week, and with all the rain, we haven't had any lines announcements.

So don't send lunch tomorrow, Robyn and Kathrine will be serving up sausages and other goodies.

Thanks to Robyn, Kathrine and the other helpers for providing this!

Lines messages 31/3

Term 2 notes must be back in by tomorrow morning. Don't forget!

Posters also have to go back tomorrow and the awards will be made at the assembly on Thursday.

Cleaners

Does anybody have a fantastic cleaner they can recommend? This working/studying/looking after kids malarkey has got the better of me and I need to outsource some of it. Thanks for your suggestions!

Lines Messages 26/3

Tomorrow is the Snugglepot & Cuddlepie show at the Seymour. Parents don't need to do anything special, it fits in between lunch and recess, and so everything gets sent to school as normal and the kids don't need to take anything with them to the show.

Term 2 notes need to be back in by next Wednesday morning.

Lines messages 23&24/3

I forgot to post the messages yesterday, so here they are with today's.

The roof is being replaced near where lines are normally held, so lines are being held backwards. It's a challenge, but everyone is doing their best to adapt.

Stewart House bags have been sent home and can be brought in until 31st March. They can be put on or under the table in the hall.

Term 2 notes need to be back by 1st April.

Posters need to be in by next Wednesday.

Mrs Killorn is out of the office today, so please hold off all office business until tomorrow.

Toast tongs

Do you have toast tongs? A few years ago a friend gave me a pair - wooden tongs designed for getting the toast out of toasters safely. He told me they would change my life. I scoffed. Then yesterday Charlie broke ours. I admit it, I'm an addict.
Anyway, he brought them from the US and they were impossible to get here. Now you can get Cuisena ones here, but only online. They cost $5 each, with $5 for postage of one. The postage is $10 for 2 or more, so I was wondering if anyone else wants a set to reduce the postage per item.

They are ideal for kids learning to make their own breakfast - a safe way to get the toast out without burning fingers. And never mind the kids, I have been trying to use my sad, broken ones - I am officially dependent.

So please let me know in a comment, by email or at lines if you'd like a set for yourself, or as a gift or whatever. I'm not going to profit - just sharing the joy and reducing the cost of postage. :)

Putting stuff on the blog

A few people have asked me how they can put stuff on here. There are 2 ways - one with commitment (well, just a tiny bit) and one without.

The commitment-less option is to use that link over on the right that says to email me or Alison, and we'll post whatever you send us as a post like this one. I'm using email most of the time, so you shouldn't have to wait too long for me to respond.

If you like a bit of commitment, and think you'd like to post more than once or twice, you can become an author. If you send me your email address, I can send you an invitation and you can join up and post directly. We can have up to 100 authors, so there is no obligation to becoming one and no limitation on who can be one.

I'd be keen to have a few other people who might have time to occasionally put the lines messages up, since I'm not there every day. Again, no obligation - just if you go to lines and think of it afterwards, check to see if the messages are up yet, and if not, put them up yourself.

One last bit of administrivia - there is a calendar at the bottom of the page with all the school events. I keep this pretty up to date, because it is the one I use personally for school stuff. Let me know if there is something I've missed.